Difference between iphone 11 and 13 pro max

This iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 11 comparison breaks down the differences between these two handsets. Though divided by two years, there still quite similar in many respects. This breakdown is just what you need if you're wondering whether the new iPhone is worth the upgrade. The short of it is that, yes, there are quite a few upgrades worth noting.

You'll see in our iPhone 13 review and iPhone 13 mini review that they pack a number of worthwhile improvements. This includes brighter displays, longer battery life and much more capable cameras. 

But what exactly can you expect in terms of the models, design, price, and overall performance? And does it makes sense to upgrade after two generations?

Unfortunately, as of the launch of the iPhone 14, the iPhone 11 is no longer on sale directly from Apple. Finding it in stock may be tricky, so you may want to take a look at our iPhone 13 vs iPhone 12 face-off for the current "cheaper" iPhone options, or take a look at the iPhone 14 vs. iPhone 13 face-off if you're tempted to go for Apple's latest model instead.

With all four iPhone 13 models available to buy, it's time to decide. So be sure to read this entire face-off before you do so. If you're looking for the iPhone 13 Pros, check out our iPhone 13 Pro review and iPhone 13 Pro Max review. 

iPhone 13 vs. iPhone 11: Specs

iPhone 13 vs iPhone 11: Models and prices

The iPhone 13 has four models in its lineup, including the 5.4-inch iPhone 13 mini, 6.1-inch iPhone 13, 6.1-inch iPhone 13 Pro and 6.7-inch iPhone 13 Pro Max. For the sake of this comparison, we're focusing on the mini and regular iPhone 13.

The iPhone 13 mini starts at $599 and comes with 128GB of storage, while the iPhone 13 costs $699 with the same 128GB. You can upgrade to 256GB and 512GB of storage for $100 and $300 more, respectively, for both phones. 

Check out our iPhone 13 deals page for the best discounts on all of the 2021 models. 

The 6.1-inch iPhone 11 costs just $499 until a few weeks ago, when Apple then removed it from the Apple Store to make room for the iPhone 14. You may still find remaining stock at other retailers, and perhaps some refurbished units floating around, but you may want to check where actually sells the iPhone 11 still before diving deeper into this face-off.

iPhone 13 vs iPhone 11: Design and colors

The iPhone 13 has some important design differences versus the iPhone 11. For one, the notch is now 20% smaller, which gives up a bit more screen real estate. And just like the iPhone 12, the iPhone 13 sports a Ceramic Shield display that helps protect the phone from drop damage.

Both the iPhone 13 and iPhone 11 are IP68 water resistant, so you shouldn't worry about either phone getting splashed or taking a dunk in water. However, the iPhone 13's water resistance rating is a bit stronger — it can go up to 6 meters as opposed to 2 meters for the iPhone 11.

If you're comparing the 6.1-inch iPhone 13 against the iPhone 11, it's nice to know that the newer model is a bit sleeker. The iPhone 13 measures 5.8 x 2.8 x 0.3 inches and weighs 6.14 ounces, while the older iPhone 11 is 5.9 x 3 x 0.33 inches and 6.84 ounces.

The iPhone 13 has five color options, including red, starlight, midnight, blue and pink. There's also a new green color. The iPhone 11 has six colors from which to choose: black, green, yellow, purple, red and white.

iPhone 13 vs iPhone 11: Displays

The iPhone 13's display offers a couple of advantages over the iPhone 11. For one, the brightness reached 795 nits, compared to 625 nits for the iPhone 11. So you should be able to better see the iPhone 13's display in sunlight.

And you get a sharper resolution with the iPhone 13 at 2532 x 1170 pixels versus 1792 x 828 pixels for the iPhone 11. Add in better contrast and the smaller notch, and the iPhone 13's screen is clearly better than the iPhone 11. The newest iPhone also uses an OLED panel versus the LCD on the iPhone 11. That means punchier colors and deeper blacks.

iPhone 13 vs iPhone 11: Cameras

This is where the iPhone 13 truly stands out against the iPhone 11. For one, the new ultrawide sensor lets in 47% more light than the iPhone 12. And the 12MP main wide-angle camera has sensor-shift image stabilization, a feature previously limited to the iPhone 12 Pro Max. 

In addition, the wide camera on the iPhone 13 has a f/1.6 aperture, while the iPhone 11 makes do with f/1.8, so you should expect better low-light performance overall.

You also get Photographic Styles with the iPhone 13, which bring personal preferences to your photos in real-time rendering. Think of it as a filter on steroids.

The coolest new iPhone 13 camera feature is Cinematic Mode, which dynamically shifts focus and follows the subject of your video. If the subject moves, so will the focus. If the person looks away, the focus will shift to where the subject is looking.

The iPhone 13 video quality should be better overall, too, as it supports HDR Dolby Vision for better colors and contrast.  

iPhone 13 vs iPhone 11: Performance and 5G

The iPhone 13 supports 5G, which the iPhone 11 lacks. That means you'll be able to tap into faster 5G networks that continue to grow across the country and the world. 

In terms of raw performance, the A15 Bionic once again delivers to be the fastest chip inside a phone. This 5nm chip should vastly outperform the 7nm A13 Bionic in iPhone 11, especially when it comes to graphics-intensive games and more demanding tasks like video editing. However, the A13 Bionic is fine for everyday use.

On Geekbench 5, for example, the iPhone 13 scored 4,129 and 1,684 on the multi-core and single-core tests. The iPhone 11 scored 3,251 and 1,333 respectively. And it took the iPhone 13 25.9 seconds to transcode a 4K video to 1080p on our video editing test, compared to 45 seconds for the iPhone 11. 

The bigger performance leap comes in with the 16-core Neural engine in the iPhone 13, up from 8 cores on the iPhone 11. This aids everything from image signal processing to the Live Text camera feature in iOS 15.  

iPhone 13 vs iPhone 11: Battery and charging

The iPhone 11 lasted a great 11 hours and 16 minutes on our web surfing battery test, but that's over 4G. 5G connections tend to use more power. The 5G-enabled iPhone 13 lasted 10 hours and 33 minutes, which is a big improvement over the 8:25 from the iPhone 12.

The iPhone 11 and iPhone 13 both support 20W charging, which gets you to 50% in 30 minutes. We'd like to see faster charging. 

iPhone 13 vs iPhone 11: Bottom line

The iPhone 13 is not a dramatic leap forward compared to the iPhone 11, but it offers enough improvements to make upgrading worthwhile, and is likely much easier to find on sale as of the end of 2022. The biggest changes in our book are 5G connectivity, the brighter display and enhanced wide and ultra-wide cameras, in additional to the computational photography features like Cinematic Mode and better Night mode. The storage bump for the base model is also a welcome change.

If you want something properly up-to-date, then take a look at the iPhone 14. Also, if you're worried about getting the best bang for your buck and 5G, there's the new $429 iPhone SE (2022). But if you're still picking between iPhone 13 and iPhone 11, then the iPhone 13 is most likely your best choice.

Mark Spoonauer is the global editor in chief of Tom's Guide and has covered technology for over 20 years. In addition to overseeing the direction of Tom's Guide, Mark specializes in covering all things mobile, having reviewed dozens of smartphones and other gadgets. He has spoken at key industry events and appears regularly on TV to discuss the latest trends, including Cheddar, Fox Business and other outlets. Mark was previously editor in chief of Laptop Mag, and his work has appeared in Wired, Popular Science and Inc. Follow him on Twitter at @mspoonauer.